Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett is on the stand for what is expected to be a grueling, all-day cross-examination hearing.

Supporters have warned Barrett to expect “a strong broadside by Democrats against the jurist’s faith in the upcoming confirmation hearings” — an attack that then-Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh warned about during his controversial hearings in 2018.

Brian Burch, head of CatholicVote.org, said Barrett should anticipate the worst.

“It’s another form of interrogation that is inappropriate and unconstitutional,” he said, and compared questioning Barrett’s membership in the faith group “People of Praise” to the attacks against U.S. District Judge Brian Buescher in 2019.

Buescher’s membership in the Knights of Columbus was a major sticking point with Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif.

“He was asked five questions about his membership in the Knights of Columbus and whether he would recuse himself from cases in which it was involved,” Burch said.

It’s the kind of “circus” Kavanaugh warned had become the norm in Senate confirmation hearings for Supreme Court Justices. Kavanaugh was accused of a series of increasingly outlandish crimes — sexual assault, gang rape, fistfights, alcoholism, and more — during his contentious 2018 confirmation hearing.

None of the accusations were ever supported by evidence. Kavanaugh was confirmed to the Supreme Court after the hearings. All the accusations have since been dropped.

You can see the powerful flashback video from Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearing below —

Barrett’s confirmation hearing began at 9:00am Eastern on  Tuesday and is expected to be held throughout the day.

For the latest, you can watch Barrett’s confirmation hearing below live here —

 

FLASHBACK: Christine Blasey Ford quietly drops all her allegations against Kavanaugh

 

The Horn editorial team